(Photo via Brendan O’Keeffe/WCSN)
On the Friday before Halloween, Arizona State women’s volleyball (11-12, 5-6 Pac-12) looked like Jekyll & Hyde on a night that began scarily but ended triumphantly.
In its return home after splitting last weekend in Washington, ASU defeated Oregon State (7-14, 2-9 Pac-12) in four sets (20-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-15).
“I am super happy about getting this win at home,” ASU head coach Sanja Tomasevic said. “We saw two teams show up in one match – the first set, and after that first set, we cleaned it up on our side.”
The evil Mr. Hyde Sun Devil squad lost the first set 25-20, as ASU committed eight attack errors and five service errors, practically handing the Beavers the opening set.
Oregon State also spread the wealth around with six different Beavers recording a kill. They were led by sophomore outside hitter Inna Balyko and freshman middle blocker Kinley Swan, who each recorded three kills a piece.
Tomasevic attributed the slow start to her team’s timid serving.
“In the first set, we made five serving errors,” Tomasevic said. “Those were not good mistakes either. It is one thing if you miss a serve long … but when you miss tentative, when you miss being scared because you’re serving the ball in not to miss instead of going for a good serve, that mindset is completely different. We talked about it between one and two.”
Tomasevic’s words in between the first and second set must have worked because the Sun Devils then turned into the good Dr. Jekyll.
ASU finished with zero service errors in the second set and displayed improved defense. The Sun Devils out-blocked the Beavers 4-1 – with junior middle blocker Claire Jeter claiming two of them – to win the set 25-20.
ASU was missing Jeter in its last two matches due to a back injury. Without her, the Sun Devils only had four blocks against Washington State last Sunday. They then tripled that mark on Friday, with ASU out-blocking Oregon State 12-7. The Sun Devils also held the Beavers’ top-two pin hitters – sophomores Mychael Vernon and Izzi Szulczewski – to 10 and 11 kills, respectively.
Fueled by the team’s stellar defensive second set, the offense came alive in the third. Junior outside hitter Marta Levinska led the team with six kills and recorded back-to-back aces in the set. Levinska’s performanc was her best in Pac-12 Conference play, recording 20 kills on a .500 hitting percentage.
Even on a career night for the Latvian, Levinska made it a point to thank her setter, senior Shannon Shields.
“I really have to thank Shannon,” Levinska said. “She has my back, and she really took care of me today. She trusted me, gave me some really great sets, and kept me in rhythm.”
Recently, Tomasevic has been leaning towards a 6-2 rotation, with Shields and junior setter Ella Snyder splitting time. But on Friday, it was all Shields as she led the team with 38 assists.
“They have a special connection, Shannon and Marta do,” Tomasevic said. “Some of those balls Marta hits off of Shannon, we are like, ‘Oh my god, that’s so low.’ Probably for a regular human but not for Marta.”
With all the momentum on its side, ASU closed out the Beavers in the fourth set 25-15. The set was highlighted by sophomore libero Meadow Cooper serving a 7-0 run to take the Sun Devils from leading 14-11 to leading 20-11, essentially sealing the match.
After sweeping the season series with the struggling Beavers, the Sun Devils now face the challenge of getting back to .500 with a matchup against No. 18 Oregon on Sunday at 1 p.m.
